While the above approach works.. I'd argue that it leads to a highly conservative attitude amongst senior management. At some point, everyone wants to be well

While the above approach works.. I'd argue that it leads to a highly conservative attitude amongst senior management. At some point, everyone wants to be well known enough to be respected - but not so well known as to be tied to any initiative. Smart managers seem to understand this dynamic and simply "hide" extra head count to allow for the "high risk" projects without external scrutiny.